Electro-mechanical devices, for example, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices may include ultra-small mechanical components.
Certain MEMS devices, for example, Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) Radio Frequency (RF) filters, may include a membrane attached to a substrate, for example, a Silicon substrate. One or more cavities may be formed in the substrate, for example, to allow freedom of movement of the membrane and/or to reduce loss of RF energy during operation.
A conventional process for producing such MEMS devices may include depositing the membrane and/or other layers on top of the substrate, and then forming the cavities in the substrate. Since access to the substrate is obscured by the membrane and/or other layers, release holes may be created in the device to allow injection of etching material to form the cavities in the substrate by a dry or wet-etching process.
Thus, the cavities may be fluidically connected, for example, via the release holes, with an environment surrounding the MEMS device, for example, before the MEMS device is packaged. This may result in contamination of the cavities and/or stiction of the membrane, i.e., the membrane sticking to the surface of the cavity, for example, as a result of the wet-etching process and/or due to environmental humidity.
Contamination of the cavities and/or stiction of the membrane may affect the operation of the MEMS device.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.